Modifications
Under construction all the time... as in oops, I forgot to include something, or I didn't have time to proofread the previous update.
Nitrous Oxide Facts and the ZEX Dry Manifold Nitrous Kit
B & M CommandFlo Fuel Flow Modifier
Shops in the Vancouver area you should avoid (the suck list).
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Nitrous Oxide Facts and the ZEX Dry Manifold Nitrous Kit
Nitrous Oxide in a Nutshell:
Nitrous oxide is the cheapest and fastest (no pun intended) way to get huge horsepower gains from your vehicle. It is also the least understood of all performance modifications.
Nitrous oxide itself is not dangerous. It is not flammable. However, since it comes compressed, it needs to be handled with great care. Nitrous oxide is most commonly used in the medical field as laughing gas. The nitrous oxide sold for automobile performance use has traces of sulfur mixed in to discourage substance abuse. Sorry guys, no cheap thrills here.
Chemically, nitrous oxide is made up of two parts nitrogen and one part oxygen. Nitrous oxide in the bottle is in liquid form and under extreme pressure. When it is released into the atmosphere, it turns into a gas. At this state the gas is very cold -- just like propane. At higher temperatures, as in the combustion chamber, the nitrous breaks down quickly, giving off pure oxygen. Oxygen, of course, is needed for anything to burn. The more oxygen you have, the bigger the combustion. Add more fuel and........... you get the idea. The nitrogen that is released during the combustion process acts as a buffer to control combustion and the cooling effect of the nitrous oxide being introduced at the intake manifold also contributes to the increases in horsepower (cold air contains more molecules by volume). This takes us to the horror stories many have heard about nitrous oxide use in race cars. Uncontrolled, the use of nitrous oxide can produce catastrophic results. Used properly, it is awesome.
There are two major ways to get nitrous oxide into your engine. One way is to mix the nitrous oxide together with fuel and then inject the mixture into the engine. This is called the wet system or direct feed method. The other way is to introduce nitrous oxide into the intake tube/pipe before the throttle body so it mixes with regular air. This is called the dry manifold system.
Wet or direct feed systems are very potent and are used when a huge increase in horsepower is desired. Unless you know what you are doing, or your engine and car is capable of the huge power increases, stay away from it. The dry manifold system is by far the simplest and safest way to get nitrous into your engine. The only drawback to the dry manifold system is that it has an upper limit of up to 75 horsepower of increase. For most imports, 75 extra horses is plenty. Any more and you will have to modify the internal components of your engine.
Please keep in mind (before the wet system fans get on my case) that advances in nitrous oxide technology are being made constantly. Nitrous kits are becoming easier to install and with less guesswork. In any case, if you are starting out, my advice would be to try the dry manifold system first and then move up to the wet or direct feed system as you become more comfortable with the use of nitrous. This is assuming you have a fuel injected car. BTW, the bottle is the most expensive part of any nitrous oxide kit, so you can move on up to the big boy systems for a relatively low cost. For most imports, you can safely go up to 75 hp increases without any internal engine work.
The ZEX Dry Manifold Nitrous Kit:
I chose the ZEX system (dry manifold) because it seemed very easy to install. And it was, as it took me approximately six to eight hours to install (I really took my time). Now that I've done it, I would say it could be done in as little as three hours, especially if you are mechanically gifted.
I am very pleased with the ZEX system. The kit comes with everything. Just make three electrical connections (switched positive, negative ground, and throttle position sensor wire), two vacuum line connections (splice between fuel pressure regulator and manifold), and one nitrous supply hose connection from the bottle to the control unit. The ZEX system is also one of the most safest and reliable systems out there with built-in safety features. The ZEX kit components (bottle and control unit) come in a cool, funky (that dates me) purple color, and all the solenoids and connections are housed in the control unit. The ZEX system senses how much nitrous pressure is present and adjusts the amount of fuel needed in order to create the safest and most efficient mixture. The supply line (stainless steel Teflon braided hose) is a perfect 14 feet for Hondas. ZEX also includes various jets so you can experiment between 55, 65, and 75 horsepower settings. The other neat feature about the ZEX system is that the nitrous only kicks in when the throttle is at the wide open position.......even with the switch armed. The rush you get when the nitrous kicks in is great. Something like going into hyperdrive in the Millennium Falcon. Ok, a little exaggeration. BTW, ZEX is a company with ties to Competition Cams.
How much???
In Canada, nitrous systems go for anywhere from $600 to $800. I got my ZEX kit for $825 including taxes (GST and PST).
Nitrous oxide itself costs $5.50 per pound here in the Vancouver, B.C., Canada area (if you are paying more, e-mail me and I will give you names to places that sell for this price).
At 55 horsepower settings, a typical 10 pound bottle will last for 3 minutes. 3 minutes is a long time when you figure you use nitrous for 10 to 20 seconds at a time. At 65 horsepower settings, a 10 lb bottle lasts for 2.5 minutes, and at 75 horsepower settings, 2 minutes.
Hidden costs!
To stay legal at the track, and for safety reasons, you need to buy some stuff that will vent the nitrous out of the car in case of an emergency. When temperatures in the vehicle rise on a hot, hot summer day, it is possible for the pressure of the nitrous to reach 1800 psi and beyond. If this ever happens (and it doesn't happen too often, thank god) the valve and fittings on the bottle can become scary projectiles. Fortunately, all bottles and tanks, by law, come with a safety blow-off cap. The only bad thing about these blow-off caps is that they cannot be attached to any external hoses. This is probably due to the fact that the bottles and fittings are designed for medical use in open areas and not in cars. Once blow-off caps blow, the entire contents of the bottle is expelled. Can you imagine, having the blow-off cap go in your trunk or hatchback while you are driving? London fog in your vehicle, icicles on your amps and subs, etc.
You will need to buy a blow-off cap designed for racing use (threaded, so a hose can be attached) and a length of SST (stainless steel braided Teflon coated) hose. NOS sells a down pipe kit, but it is not practical in most situations as it is a non-flexible pipe. Besides, the SST braided hose and Russell fittings look so cool. Because the sole job of the down pipe hose is to direct gas out of the vehicle, it is not important to have a super-high pressure capable fitting or SST braided hose. However, if you plan on going to the track with nitrous, you may be refused entry unless you follow their guidelines regarding the setup of the down pipe system.
As you get into using nitrous on a regular basis, you will notice right away that your runs will be inconsistent. This occurs because the nitrous' potency is dependent upon temperature. The cooler the temperature, the less pressure there is. The 14.4 quarter mile pass you made in the afternoon sun could easily have been a 15.2 if it was done in the evening. How can you rectify the problem? Buy yourself a bottle heater and blanket. Whether you use the juice late night, early morning, winter time, whatever, the bottle heater will ensure that your runs are consistent. There are two types of heaters out on the market. One uses a temperature sensor to control the amount of warming, while the other uses bottle pressure to control warming. The pressure method is the best as it is more accurate, but often costs a lot more. NOS uses the temperature sensor method while Nitrous Express uses the pressure method. I purchased a NOS heater (what can I say? no mo $$). The installation of the bottle heater is very simple. If you can make Kraft Dinner, you can install a bottle heater.
Although costly, an accessory that might come in handy later on is the remote turn on / turn off switch. With this baby installed, you don't have to go to the trunk all the time to physically turn the valve off and on.
Another accessory to get, if you have the dough, is a purge system. The purge system is really, really cool. You see the pros at the track use it all the time (the jets of steam shooting out from engines). Nitrous in the lines become stale and impotent (gotta love that word) over time. Nitrous fresh out of the bottle is the most potent. The purge system does just that. It allows the racer to purge or empty out the stale, flat stuff just before the green light. Can you imagine how the guy next to you at a stop light would react seeing and hearing a jet stream of mist and a mean-sounding hissssssss come out from your engine compartment just before the light turns green?
Install and Miscellaneous Tips
When installing a dry manifold nitrous kit, it is recommended that you place the spray nozzle 8 to 10 inches away from the throttle body. This will allow the nitrous oxide more time to change state and mix evenly with the rest of the air assuring you an even concentration of nitrous. Too close and the mixture will not be consistent -- too far and you will lose horsepower potential.
If you can, use the drain plug in your trunk area for passing the supply hose through to the underside of your vehicle. If you have to drill a hole into the floor of the trunk area (I had to because of the stereo and sub box), make sure you smooth out all edges and use grommets and/or silicon, or any other kind of non-shrinking, flexible sealant. I used clear hoses of various sizes over the SST braided supply hose, then placed collars on both sides of the trunk floor at the hole. I just split the hoses and zap strapped them together. No messy goop and it looks cool because you can still see the braids. I guess I could have used the clear hose over the entire length of the supply hose. It wouldn't hurt to add extra protection. Those hoses aren't cheap.
When taking the supply hose off the bottle for a refill, take the hose off using the large adapter and not the fitting that is attached to the supply hose. It's much easier to replace an adapter than it is to replace the entire supply hose.
Do not use Teflon tape on any of the connections. There is a chance that pieces of Teflon tape will get into the lines and cause damage to either the engine or to the solenoids. Use Teflon pipe joint compound instead.
Don't use nitrous under 2500 rpm.
Don't use nitrous until the car is warmed up and then some. All that extra power is hard on the main bearings.
Don't use nitrous at all if your car is not in good operating condition. Mileage is not a factor. My Honda just turned 260 000 km on the original engine, but has no problem with the nitrous. And I use nitrous almost on a daily basis.
Check out ZEX's spark plugs. They are specifically designed for use in nitrous equipped engines. Shorter ground straps (three of them) to effectively dissipate heat. No need to index your plugs.
Always use high octane gas - 92 or better. In Canada, Chevron has ultra-high grade 94 at most of their stations. High octane reduces detonation. A must if you push the engine to its limits.
Air/Fuel Ratio and nitrous (see Auto Meter section below)
Late Breaking News (addendum):
I just heard that ZEX is planning to introduce bottle heaters, purge kits, and blow down tubes to compliment their nitrous kits (hopefully in that great purple colour).
I've been hearing all kinds of stories about oxygen sensors. The service manager at the local Honda dealership says don't touch the thing unless the engine light comes on, because a new one won't change a thing. The manufacturers of oxygen sensors insist that sensors have to be changed every 60, 000 miles because a fouled sensor will give false readings to the ECU. I decided to install a new one after my buddy (he has only steered me wrong once) from the speed shop told me nitrous use and excessive heat shortens the life of oxygen sensors.
So did it make a difference? It's too early to tell as I just installed the sucker, an NGK OEM sensor ($79.00 Canadian), tonight (Jan 22, 2000). I did however, get a chance to drive the car around the neighbourhood for about half an hour. I have had an Auto Meter Air/Fuel Ratio gauge in my car for just over a month now, so any kind of difference should be easy to see. As soon as I started the engine, I felt a big difference. The engine started within a second as usual (thanks to the MSD ignition), but the usual warm up stutter/sputter I have been getting lately due to the colder weather didn't happen, or at least it wasn't as noticeable. Another neat thing I noticed was the Air/Fuel Ratio gauge displayed a different reading right away. Usually, I get a single green light at the farthest most "rich" green LED for quite some time until the oxygen sensor warms up and sends a signal. This time I was getting all four or five green LED's lighting up. And, the sensor warmed up or started to send a signal quicker than usual. The movement of the LED's is also much quicker now. I don't know if any of this is good or bad. To date, my gas mileage has been very poor. This has not been due to any upgrades or modifications since I haven't added anything recently (I don't think two gauges and a shift light would change anything). After a few weeks of driving, I should be able to report back any changes (hopefully an improvement) in gas mileage and performance.
UPDATE! February 24, 2000
Well, it's been a few weeks since I installed the oxygen sensor. Did it make a difference? Yes. Not a whole lot, but enough to say it was worth the money. If you drive the way I do (full throttle most of the time), the difference is not that great, but if you drive normally (I did drive normally for a while), the difference in gas mileage is very noticeable. When the engine is at full throttle, the ECU does not work. Therefore, any kind of oxygen sensor will not make a difference. One interesting note..... I found that the instant rush that I used to get at 3500 rpm when the cam kicked in is not as great as before. The power curve is smoother now. Overall acceleration is smoother. Idle is not any better, but that's because of the performance cam.
Gauges
Besides looking cool, gauges are very functional. They keep you informed as to the condition of your engine and they help you squeeze the most out of what you have. I chose Auto Meter because of their reputation and availability (support network). I went with the "Phantom" series gauges because of the white face, red needle, and black lettering and bezel. All gauges except for the Air/Fuel Ratio (no need as LED's are indicators) come with a light with a choice of red or green (other colours available) "condoms". I have all the gauges in green -- it lives up to its name "Phantom" with the green glow look.
Air/Fuel Ratio Gauge
I purchased this gauge because I wanted to learn more about how the electronic control system worked. I also wanted to know the operating condition of the electronic control system in my car. Having nitrous in the car, I wanted to make sure I was not running lean (running lean is one of the major causes of detonation).
Electronic Oil Pressure Gauge
Every car comes with an oil light, but by the time you see the light go on, it's usually too late. It's really nice to see exactly how much oil pressure you have during idle, acceleration, and at high rpm. I chose to go electric rather than mechanical because I didn't want to chance a leak anywhere in the car's cabin. The difference in price between the two was not that much. I'm sure the mechanical gauges are accurate, but what happens if the lines get pinched?
Voltmeter
I had to get this thing because I have an underdrive pulley installed. I need to know if the alternator is doing its thing and if the battery is holding a charge. If you are not sure about the differences between an amp gauge and a voltmeter, check out the FAQ/Technical section in Auto Meter's web site.
Vacuum Gauge
At first, and this is the honest truth, I bought this thing because I wanted another gauge to go with the voltmeter on the dash. Real stupid reason, huh? As it turns out, it has helped me better understand what goes on with the engine. So many things run off of the vacuum from your engine. Like the oil pressure gauge, the vacuum gauge keeps you informed as to how much, in this case, negative pressure you have during idle, acceleration, deceleration, and under various loads. If you have any kind of leak in your vacuum system everything starts to bog down.
Pro-Shift Lite
I went with a stand-alone shift light rather than a Monster Tach with shift light because the Tach would have been too much to look at with all the other gauges - overkill. I also like the idea of the pills (little plug-in modules that sets off the light at a predetermined rpm). "Pills" are sold in packs of five. I purchased MSD pills, which are compatible with Auto Meter products. The five pack I purchased included 6200, 6400, 6600, 6800, and 7000 rpm modules (pills). After trying out all five, I settled with the 6400 pill.
Installation of Gauges
Wiring the A/F Ratio gauge was simple. Three wires -- red to switched 12 volt, black to ground, and purple to the oxygen sensor. Caution! (this is not mentioned in the installation instructions). Make sure the ground wire on the A/F Ratio either goes directly to the negative of the battery or a good engine ground. If you ground the black wire to the fuse block or a shared ground point, you will pick up electrical interference (ground loop -- stereo installers know all about this) that will result in false readings, which in turn might skew the information that is sent to the ECU.
Wiring the oil pressure gauge was very simple. Five wires -- red to switched 12 volt, black to ground, green to sensor, and two leads from the light bulb to positive and negative. The hardest part was getting the electric oil sensor onto the engine block. It's nearly impossible to install the sensor with the oil filter on. I waited until I needed an oil change. If I had some cheap oil and filter on the engine, I would have done the change right away, but I use Royal Purple and K&N oil filter. Anyway, once the oil filter is off, the sensor is a snap to install. BTW, you need to buy a metric adapter if you are installing the sensor on an import as the sensor has standard (SAE) threads.
Wiring of the voltmeter requires four wires to be connected -- two leads from bulb, and two electrical connections (positive and negative).
Wiring of the vacuum gauge requires three connections -- two bulb wires, and a mechanical 1/8" nylon tube from gauge to vacuum line. The gauge comes with a universal tee and all necessary hardware, including the two "condoms".
Wiring the Pro-Shift Lite requires three electrical connections -- red to switched 12 volt, black to ground, and green to coil. I connected the green wire of the Pro-Shift Lite to the tach output of the MSD 6A.
Installing the A/F Ratio gauge along with the electronic oil pressure gauge into the dual gauge pillar mount pod was simple enough to understand, but hard to do (did that make any sense?). The installation requires that you to take the plastic A- pillar cover off and cut a hole in it so the gauge wires can pass through. You have to mark and measure everything carefully so that the wires will go into the channel that is stamped into the A-pillar (where the antenna wire goes). The pod is attached to the plastic pillar cover and A-pillar via plastic ratchet fasteners (plastic things that look like screws that you push in). This means you have to drill small 3/16" holes into the cover and A-pillar. Make sure not to drill into the antenna cable or something else electrical.
I connected all of the gauges' switched 12 volt leads to a single switch on the dash. The light leads were also connected to a single switch. It made all the wires a little easier to manage.
Really nice piece to look at, if you can see it (the dust boot and cover hides most of it). Does it make shifting better? Nope! As soon as I started to install it, I knew I was going to have a problem with it. The stock shifter has a bend in it (for a reason). The B & M doesn't. That means the shifter is farther away from you. I had to stretch to get the shifter into first and third. After one day of driving, I couldn't take it anymore. I was turning into a right-handed monkey (long arms). The only solution was to buy B & M's Shift Stabilizer System (added cost -- good marketing strategy?). The stabilizer itself is not a good idea as it is a metal piece that replaces the stock rubber stabilizer. If your car is for racing only, the B & M stabilizer is great as you get precise shifts. I installed the thing in my car just to see what it would do. Right away everything started to shake, chatter, and knock. I thought something was going to break each time I shifted. I had to go back to using the factory rubber stabilizer. I purchased the shift stabilizer kit because part of the kit allowed for a 1 inch fore/aft adjustment of the neutral placement of the shifter. My advice? Stay away from the B & M shifter. Unless, of course you are a trombone player in the band. Actually, it is the nicest looking shifter out there. Just plan on getting the stabilizer kit, too. As a side note, if you are contemplating buying an Energy Suspension Master Kit for your car, go for it as it includes, among other things, a polyurethane shift stabilizer. It is harder than stock rubber, which improves overall shifting, but is not solid like the B & M, which has no flex whatsoever to keep engine vibration from transferring to the rest of the car.
Fuel Delivery Facts and B & M CommandFlo Fuel Flow Modifier
Whenever you increase airflow in an engine (low restriction air intake and high-flow exhaust), you need to make sure that the fuel supply to the engine can keep up. One easy way to ensure you have lots of fuel available is to install some kind of a fuel pressure riser or modifier. Stillen makes a very nice fuel pressure riser, but it is very expensive. B & M's CommandFlo is simple to install and inexpensive. The original reason behind purchasing the CommandFlo was to ensure I got plenty of fuel into the engine during nitrous use. As I learned more about how nitrous and fuel systems work, I realized that a fuel pressure modifier is not really needed for nitrous. The ZEX nitrous kit and other well designed nitrous systems don't need fuel pressure modifiers because they already come with one. The only problem is that when the nitrous is not in use, you are back to using whatever is stock. So, if you do have a modified engine, you definitely need some kind of fuel pressure modifier to balance out the increases in air flow. Remember, fuel pressure is regulated by the vacuum system of the engine. Make sure you have proper vacuum to start with.
Another way of getting more fuel into the engine is to increase the flow rate or efficiency of the fuel injectors. The amount of, and duration of, fuel that is injected into the engine by the injectors is controlled by the ECU (Electronic Control Unit-- the computer). Increasing the flow of fuel by the injectors works, but after a certain point you will have to modify the rest of the fuel delivery system (fuel pressure, fuel rail, fuel pump, etc.). Visit RC Engineering's web site for more info on injectors. That's my next mod -- either upgrade to better injectors or have the stock injectors cleaned and balanced.
When you install a fuel flow modifier, purchase a fuel pressure gauge as well so you can keep track of the changes you make. Also, don't go wild with the changes. Too much fuel gives you negative results. Find out your vehicle's normal fuel pressure (measured in psi) and make that your reference point.
Shops in the Vancouver area you should avoid (the suck list).
Wing Fai Motors. Nice enough people, but their work is pathetic. The owner , a fairly old dude, seems to know what he is doing, but most of the work there is done by his young apprentices. I watched them work on my car. Kind of reminds me of those old war movies...... makeshift hospitals using crude tools and methods. When I purchased my Koni struts and Eibach springs from Supra GT in Vancouver, the price included free installation. You guessed it, Wing Fai Motors. BTW, the springs and struts were what got me started with modifying the car. At that time I didn't know much about hopping up cars except for the fact that Eibach and Koni were well respected brand names. Anyway, by the time the pieces came in (took three long months), I had developed a leaking CV boot. I also had a broken header stud (from installing the OBX header) that needed fixing along with an Unorthodox Racing underdrive pulley that needed installing. The labour for the underdrive pulley, re and re of the header stud, and CV boot cost me a pretty decent $200 Canadian. I paid them cash and didn't get a receipt. This seemed to be the norm at this place. Although I was a little disturbed about paying cash and not getting a receipt, I was much too eager to get the mods done. Everything seemed to be OK and time went by without any sign of problems.
When I installed the ZEX nitrous kit, it was pretty evident that the stock clutch wasn't able to handle the extra horses. I needed to do something about the clutch. Back when I purchased the springs and struts from Supra GT, the salesperson told me he had a special deal on Exedy clutches. Since the car was due for a clutch, I purchased an OEM upgrade clutch (rated 30% above stock). My fault for not thinking ahead. Back to Wing Fai. I had them install the clutch two months later for $200.00. Again, not a bad price. They told me that the flywheel didn't need machining as the surface was in good condition. Sounded ok to me. What did I know? Recently, I installed an Energy Suspension polyurethane master kit. I learned a lot about suspension parts as I had to remove all of it. That's when I noticed all the Wing Fai screw ups.
They installed the struts the wrong way causing irreparable damage to the strut's body. The struts were installed backwards so the pinch bolt rubbed on the strut's body. Thankfully the damage did not rupture the body of the strut. Wing Fai also installed the hub nut on the driver's side axle the wrong way. 60% of the threads on the axle were stripped. The hub was loose on the axle all that time. The wheel was on tight, so it was hard to notice the loose hub. At first I thought (hoped was more like it) it was a worn wheel bearing. I phoned Comptech, the people who installed the Shadbolt cam, and they said it sounded like the hub nut might be loose. When I described the problem to the Honda service manager at The Honda Way (Abbotsford), he said it had to be the hub, not the wheel bearing, and that it would definitely not be due to a loose hub nut. I purchased a new hub nut anyway thinking Honda Service has been wrong many times before (Don't open your hood to strangers, yeah right! I put Honda Service right up there with Wing Fai). Honda would probably install a new hub, tighten up the nut and say, see it worked! With a 24-inch breaker bar I removed the seized up, mangled beyond recognition, hub nut. The threads on the axle looked hopeless. I threaded the new hub nut onto the axle the best I could and tightened that sucker till I almost broke the bar. It worked, the hub tightened right up. I don't even want to think what would happen the next time I take the hub off the axle.
After installing the Energy Suspension bushings, I installed the struts back onto the car (the right way this time). I had an electronic four wheel alignment done right away at Comptech and now the car runs like a charm.
Lessons I learned:
Whenever you get clutch work done, make sure you get the flywheel machined and drive carefully for the first 300 or so stop and go miles (break-in period). The new clutch plate needs a chance to mate properly with the flywheel and cover. Note that freeway miles don't count as break-in mileage as the clutch isn't used as often.
Don't buy parts from a small time dealer or you'll end up waiting months for something that should only take a month at the most (not enough buying power or cash flow problems).
Getting work done at a cheapo place will cost you more in the long run. Especially places that will do work "under the table". No accountability and it's not easy to file a complaint (patience, patience, patience....... I could have waited a little longer -- until I had enough money to get it done at a legit place).
Honda service is not always the best place to go, unless you know that one of the mechanics is a certified Honda factory trained technician.
Do lots of research and do your own work. You really can't trust anyone. It seems like just about every monkey out there uses air tools like it's the only way to take apart and install things. The faster they get stuff done, the better it is for them. How many times have you seen mechanics use a torque wrench or take the time to wipe grease off of parts that need to be cleaned.
The Suck List:
Ok, I shouldn't be negative, so here's a positive one......
The Good Guys List
Ignition Systems and MSD:
Ignition components by themselves do not directly give you more horsepower. What they do is assure that your engine runs smoothly and safely under extreme conditions. When the manufacturers of high energy ignition systems claim that their products do this and that, what they really mean is that their products help the engine mods achieve their potential by making the process more efficient, safe, and effective.
After I installed the MSD 6A and the Blaster II external coil in my Civic, I noticed right away that the car starts in an instant. It doesn't matter how humid or cold the weather is. In fact, it is so good that at times I swear the engine turns on before I actually turn the key all the way. With the MSD components installed, I have never had a misfire of any kind and the acceleration is always very smooth -- through the entire power band and right up past the red line (until cut off).
Cat Back Exhaust -- Sebring Tuning Muffler:
Along with 2 inch cat back pipes, the Sebring Muffler added noticeable power to the top end. On the freeway, the car just screams. I'm not sure, however, about the low end. It seems to have less power now. One thing is for sure, you can hear the car coming from a block away.
OBX Header:
I'm not too wild about this piece. Although the bolt holes matched up with the studs on the cylinder head, the ports on the header's flange did not. Because of this, the exhaust note changed from a respectable growl to what my kids call the "raspberry" sound (here comes daddy in his farty little putt putt). After I spent hours grinding the ports to match the gasket, the sound improved somewhat. The OBX header by itself makes little or no difference to overall performance. Where it does make a difference is when I use the nitrous. I would dearly love to compare this cheapo header with either a DC or Airmass header. What can I say? I didn't have the money at the time and I don't want to purchase another header that might only improve performance by one or two horsepower. It looks OK though, and it is better than stock. If I decide to go turbo in the future, the header is of no use anyway.
Free Flow Catalytic Converter:
I have no idea which brand it is, but it is a great looking piece. Stainless steel and very well made (Canadian built). This thing got me through Air Care (mandatory emissions testing in British Columbia) with flying colours. I compared my test results with the very first one I had done when I bought the car and they are both identical. The free flow cat opens up the top end even more and adds a deeper tone ( thank goodness) to the exhaust. In fact, with the free flow cat, bigger pipes, camshaft upgrade, and header, once I'm on the freeway and in fifth, I never have to shift in order to go up the steepest of hills or pass slower cars and trucks. Top speed? Who knows......... the speedometer only goes up to 120 mph, although it is probably inaccurate as hell. I just wish I had some kind of low end torque. Supercharger?
Intake Modifications and Cold Air Intake:
The intake system on all EFI Hondas are good to excellent right from the factory. So why change it? Going from stock to an aftermarket intake system will change the exhaust note. The stock intake tube has ripples in it to silence both the sound of the exhaust (at the tail pipe) and the intake (in the engine compartment). The "sucking" sound is quite noticeable when you have a cone-type intake system installed. I think this is more the case because of the fact that there is no cover over the aftermarket 360 degree filter as there is with the stock box setup. In any case, if you want real horsepower increase, you will have to design or install a cold air intake. Cold air has more density (more molecules in a given amount of space) than warm or hot air. More air means better combustion. As a general rule of thumb, for every 11 degrees Fahrenheit of temperature difference, you will gain one percent of your total engine's horsepower. If your engine produces 100 horsepower, you will end up with 101 horsepower. Not much, but if you cool the air down by 90 degrees, you will end up with about 10 extra horses.
The question now becomes, is it possible to lower temperatures that much and what is the actual temperature under the hood as opposed to the outside ambient temperature? The more I think of it, the more I feel that going back to using the stock intake will be better. The stock intake box does keep warm engine air out while the pipe that feeds the box gets the air from outside the vehicle. I suppose designing a ram air system will be the best, but it has its drawbacks too, especially if you live in a wet environment like Vancouver, BC. If I do decide to go back with using the stock intake, I will install one of those K&N filters designed for use in the factory box. Increasing the air flow to the engine is still the prime directive. Who knows? I might stick with the cone-type filter and somehow build a better box and get air from outside via some other exotic method.
I purchased the Chikara (made by Hedman Hedder <sp?> company) air intake because, it seemed like a pretty good idea at the time. What I really wanted was one of those "down to the ground" intakes, but couldn't afford it. Good thing I didn't as Vancouver is North America's version of the Amazon Rainforest. I would have had more water going into the engine than air. Also, as a side note, I bought the Chikara intake before the purple-coloured ZEX nitrous kit, but after the MSD equipment. Hey, we men are colour blind, right? My wife keeps telling me that the MSD is not the same colour as the intake pipe. To me, red is red ;-)
Check for slack in the throttle cable. If there is slack, tighten it up. With the cable taught the car will go as soon as you hit the pedal. Don't overdo it, however, or your idle speed will be affected.
Clean out the throttle body -- you won't believe what you'll find. It's relatively easy to do and it's free!
Clean the engine -- it'll run cooler and keep the engine bay temperatures down.
Do all the little things like making sure the spark plug gaps are correct, the valves are adjusted, tires are inflated properly, all of the above, etc. It adds up. The guy next to you may have more horses than you, but if his engine is running poorly and yours is in top shape, you win!
Right now my racing days are on hold. My new clutch slips whenever I go into nitrous mode. And, I'm all out of money. A new clutch will cost me at least $650.00. I can save up for the clutch or continue to do little things like have the injectors cleaned or add an adjustable cam gear. Hopping up a car is a money pit. Oh well. Life's a bitch, then you die.
UPDATE! February 24, 2000
Well, it's time to get a new clutch. After getting spanked by a late model Firebird (maybe it was a Camaro), I decided it's time to get the clutch done. With the nitrous, I'm pushin' nearly 200 horses. As soon as I flip the switch, the clutch slips. I CAN'T STANDS IT NO MORE! I decided to purchase an ACT (Advance Clutch Technologies) clutch set. It's good to around 235 to 250 lb/ft of torque. I am also going to upgrade to a 1991 flywheel (bigger than 1989 flywheel), and have it lightened and balanced. I am also going to replace the driver side axle (the one that my friends at Wing Fai destroyed). The total bill? $865.00. I'm going to have the work done at Redshift Racing next Wednesday or Thursday. I guess no more racing around in the Civic until the new clutch gets broken in. :-(
Why not a Centerforce clutch? I heard some negative stuff about the clutches they make for Civics. Because of the size of the Civic transmission, Centerforce could not incorporate their sliding weight idea into the clutches for Hondas. Not only that, the ACT clutch set comes with the pilot and throw out bearings. The Centerforce clutches don't, so the price difference between them is not that great. Also, I have not heard a single bad thing said about the ACT clutches.
I also sourced a place that ultrasonically cleans injectors. Just like what the good folks at RC Engineering do. I will pull the injectors off my present engine along with the ones from the spare engine. When I will get the fuel flow printout for each injector, I will then be able to pick and choose the best set of four (matched/balanced set). Cost? $150.00 Canadian for all eight. Where? NW Fuel Injector Services (New Westminister, BC, Canada).
Where am I getting all this money from? Let's say everything short of selling my body.
Update! March 5, 2000
I've had the new clutch for 4 days now and let me tell you, it's really hard having to drive slooooow (keeping it below 3000 rpm). It's too early to tell, but the lightened flywheel only makes a bit of a difference. One thing's for sure, the clutch is heavy, and it engages close to the floor and suddenly -- got used to it quickly, though. What really impressed me was the Red Line MTL transmission lubricant. I used to have a terrible time going into second gear. Now I can't miss! Overall shifting has improved tremendously. I guess at $12.99 a Litre it should be better. The 1989 Civic tranny holds 1.8 Litres of oil, so it wasn't that expensive. Red Line MTL is definitely the way to go if you have any kind of shifting problem. I can't wait till I pass the break-in period of the new clutch. Great timing too....... the weather is improving.
My Nakamichi CD 760 finally (10 years old) packed it in last week. It just died. The fuse to the external power supply/tuner box kept blowing. The repairs are going to cost an arm and a leg. The player itself was starting to act up as well. So, I decided to get another CD Player instead of trying to fix the old one. I find that most of the decks out there these days are so cheesy. They are packed with so many gadgets, bells and whistles (high pitch?) that they make me think of Rice! -- Dancing lights and disco effects to distract you from the fact that the sound quality really sucks. After days of searching on the Net and stopping by numerous car stereo shops (any excuse to put on those break-in clicks), I decided to go with another Nak. What can I say? I had to go with quality -- get the best whenever you can. Being a musician and an audiophile, I just couldn't get any old CD player. It would be stupid to have a Nakamichi TD 1200 Mk II tape deck sitting below some cheapo, run of the mill CD player (do I sound like a snob or what?). Anyway, I pulled an all-nighter and installed the baby (still remembered where all the razor blades were installed). Talk about gorgeous sound....... imaging is so precise, tonal balance is as good as ever, and the TD 1200 sounds better going through the preamp section of the CD 45z (aux input) than it does on its own -- probably because of the 4 volt line level output of the 45z as opposed to the 1 volt or less output of the TD 1200. I am in debt, but in car audio heaven.
Update! March 21, 2000
I got my injectors cleaned and balanced. The cleaning was exactly what my engine needed. Up to this point, the engine seemed like it was struggling or moaning and groaning to go fast. The lightened flywheel didn't seem to make much of a difference and I had some lag in the acceleration. This is no longer the case. The engine just moves the car with no effort at all -- one of those "last piece of the puzzle" things. I took the 4 injectors from my engine along with the 4 injectors from the spare engine and took them to NW Fuel Injection Service Ltd. here in the lower mainland of Vancouver, BC, Canada. They ultrasonically cleaned the injectors, checked the spray pattern, and came up with a matched set of injectors for me. Good thing I had them cleaned, as the injectors were in bad shape. One of them had a very poor spray pattern and all of them were flowing at least 10 percent less than stock. When people say they have their injectors cleaned and balanced, I wonder how they can say they are balanced. Even when they are new, all injectors do not flow exactly the same. Anyhow, I now have four perfectly balanced injectors in the car. This means each cylinder gets the same amount of fuel. This doesn't guarantee that each cylinder will produce the same amount of fire power, but it doesn't hurt to give 'em the chance to. Not only that, the flow rate of fuel to the cylinders is now more than 10 percent higher -- like new.
Update! March 29, 2000
The car is running very strong since the injectors were cleaned and the new clutch is holding up very well. I now have to work on traction -- camber kit for the front to ensure tire contact is at max and purchase a pair of Nitto 555R drag radials (sometime this summer). Once I get the traction, I'll move up to the 65 horsepower jets on the ZEX nitrous kit. According to ZEX, the 65 hp setting is the most efficient of the three combinations.
Right now, my NOS bottle heater is not working. I'm hoping it's the relay switch. When the bottle is full, there's no need to heat the bottle as there is enough pressure in the system, but as soon as it starts to head toward the two thirds to half full mark, bottle temperature will make a heck of a difference.
Update! May 22, 2000
Although I haven't got the camber kit or the drag radials yet, the car is running very well. I got the bottle heater to work and I am consistently running at around the 14.8 second range through the quarter mile (G-Tech). One of my passes yielded a trap speed of 105 miles an hour, but at an ET time of 15.33 seconds. This means I have absolutely no traction. If the Nitto drags do their thing, I may be able to break into the 13's at the track where traction is a little better than the streets at 4 am. Right now I'm running All Season tires with two and a half degrees of negative camber. I'm basically running on the inside edge of my tires. I am in the planning stages of rebuilding a ZC (JDM) engine. It'll probably take a whole year to finish, but it's going to give me about 30 extra horses from stock. I will definitely go with forged pistons and moly rings. Maybe rods too, but they're not cheap. With DOHC, I should be able to get even more performance out of the motor with adjustable cams. I do have a budget I have to keep to, so it's going to be difficult deciding what mods are going to be done. I guess building a strong bottom end is the priority. Might as well, since I will have the thing fully apart.
Update! May 25, 2000
I found out that Nitto 555R's are not to be sold in Western Canada, so I picked up a pair of Yokohama A032R drag radials (185/60 14). I put 'em on generic 14 inch steel rims. I went with 14 inch tires because of the extra sidewall. The tire is very close to the diameter of the Nitto 450's (195/50 R15). I hope this solves my traction problems. Apparently they don't really start to stick until they are worn down a bit. Hey I can do that!
Update! June 2, 2000
I tried the drag radials out tonight on a quiet road. With the G-Tech monitoring progress, I managed a run of 14.68 @ 101.3 mph. I found out from someone that I should run the tires at lower pressures. Next time I will lower the pressure a bit to see if that really works. Also, I have to learn how to launch properly in first with the nitrous open. My camber kit arrived a few days back (Ingalls Posi Kits 1 to 3 degrees adjust). I'll have to install them before next Sunday (I'm going to the track for the first time!). God, I wish I was a teenager again. These late nights are getting to me. Wish me luck, people, I want to break into the 13's (13.9999999 or better).
Update! June 16, 2000
Well, I made it to the track (Mission Raceway Park) on Sunday, June 11. I had the car prepped and everything was a go. It rained on the way there, but it turned out that the weather was great at the track. I was pretty nervous as it was the first time I've been to a 1/4 mile track. However, it may be the last time I'll ever go as I blew the engine at the track. I killed it pretty darn good. I now have a hole on one side of the block about the size of a fist and a hole half that size on the other side. The engine backfired causing the intake pipe to get blown off the throttle body and causing the rod on number one cylinder to snap at the wrist pin. There was smoke, oil, coolant, and metal pieces all over the track. Get this, I was the first one on the track. The races were delayed by about 30 minutes (seemed like an eternity at the time). Not only was it embarrassing, it cost me over 2 grand to get my car back on the road. How did this happen? It was completely my fault. I shouldn't have started nitrous in first gear and I should have retarded my ignition by at least three degrees. The plan was to take off slowly in first without going wide open throttle until well over 3000 rpm (nitrous will not kick in until at wide open throttle). Being the first one on the track and never having seen a starting tree, I panicked when I saw a green light and the guy next to me going half way down the track. I put the pedal to the metal (ahggg.... it kills me just thinking about how dumb I was). I thought I was prepared. I thought about it over and over again. I just plain freaked.
I guess all the other mods I've been adding started to add up to more and more power. It was just a matter of time before it happened. The engine was way too old for the added stress. Combined with my inexperience, everything came to an abrupt end. What a place for my engine to blow up. I've waited an awful long time for this moment (racing at the track) and within a matter of seconds it all went down the drain. When it happened, I was pretty convinced it was all over. Since being a kid I wanted to go to the track and get me a time slip. Well, I didn't even make it to the finish line (not really, I got towed across the finish line). The one good thing that came out of this mishap is that I now have a JDM ZC motor in my car. My friends at Redshift Racing finished putting in the motor by the following Thursday. My original plan was to eventually install a rebuilt ZC motor. One that was built for racing. Since my Civic is a daily driver, I needed it back and running ASAP. There goes the plan. Anyway, it's a compromise. I guess I'll have to wait until I'm retired to afford the time and money to reach my goal. By that time, I'll be too old for the track..... my reaction time isn't that great now ;-)
Update! June 20, 2000
Just the other day, I went ahead and ordered a Jacobs Electronics Nitrous Mastermind. This thing will lessen or eliminate the chances of me blowing another engine using the nitrous. The Nitrous Mastermind retards the ignition automatically when the nitrous is armed. It will also introduce the nitrous gradually over time (great for traction control) as well as allow the user to set a starting point (rpm) for the nitrous. It even has a built-in nitrous cut-off when a set rpm is reached or when fuel pressure gets too low. All these features are user adjustable. Sounds too good to be true? I'll have it in my hot little hands sometime this week. Ok, ok, maybe I will go to the track one more time. Gawd, if I blow another engine, my wife will really kill me.
Update! July 15, 2000
I got the Mastermind a few weeks ago. It looks great. I wasn't sure how to hook it up, so I called their tech support. To my surprise, I found out it is not compatible with the ZEX nitrous kit. Before ordering the thing, I double checked with the salesperson to see if it would work with the ZEX. What a total waste of time, and what a disappointment. Anyway, they did give me a full refund. For you Western Canadians thinking of getting a Jacobs Nitrous Mastermind, Burnaby Auto is Western Canada's Jacobs dealer. They sell the stuff cheaper than Jacobs themselves (after taxes, shipping, etc.). I returned the unit to them for a full refund. After seeing the Nitrous Mastermind, I seriously thought of selling the ZEX kit and buying a NOS kit, but I like the ZEX kit too much. I am now going to install an MSD retard unit in the car instead. How's the car running? Let's say awesome. The extra 30 horses makes a helluva difference. I beat people all motor now. With the nitrous, I beat mildly modified 5.0 Litre Mustangs, Integra Type R's, you name it. I haven't had a chance to G-Tech the car, but it's definitely in the low 14's and maybe into the 13's. If I had got the Nitrous Mastermind to work in my car, I would definitely be in the mid 13's as I get very little traction right now while on the bottle.
Update! August 8, 2000
I was planning to take the car to the 1/4 mile track this past weekend but couldn't because the crank angle sensor on the distributor died. The sensor, which is located deep inside the distributor, came loose and got chewed up by the fins on the distributor shaft. My car doesn't even start now because the timing is non existent. The sensor is not a part you can get from a dealer, forcing you to buy a complete distributor ($450.00). Apparently this problem is very common with distributors on ZC and 88-89 Integra engines (of course newer Hondas don't have this kind of distributor setup anymore). I know of a guy who's on his third distributor now. What timing though (no pun intended).......two days before the Street Legal Drags. I searched high and low for a used distributor and a rebuilt one would take about one week to get. I've got a rebuilt distributor on order because getting a used one would mean going through this again. Most rebuilt distributors come with sensors that do not come loose through vibrations caused by hard driving.
After all that has happened to my car this year you would figure I would learn my lesson. Let me tell ya, I'm very close to giving up.
Update! September 2, 2000
I made it to the track today, and this time the car and I came back in one piece. The results were a bit disappointing, however. Anyone who thinks going in a straight line as fast as possible poses no challenge has obviously never done it before. I went out there hoping for high 13's. Boy, was I in for a surprise. Drag racing at the track is nothing like racing on the streets. First of all, the track is very, very sticky. I'm talking walk across it and your shoes come off your feet if you aren't careful. Cars with plenty of horsepower and torque on tap do very well with the added traction, but cars with less power tend to go slower. Mission Raceway Park, the track that I went to, has been NHRA Div. Six track of the year for four straight years. The track is in very good shape.
Anyway, my first run all motor (without nitrous) yielded a time of 16.25 seconds and a trap speed of 85.32 mph. It was so discouraging, not to mention a bit embarrassing. The majority of the other imports were somewhere in the 15 to 16 second range. Turbocharged cars were in the 14's. There were, of course, the usual 300ZX, all wheel drive Eagle Talons and the like that ran in the 12's and 13's. I got in 6 runs and my results improved each time I went up. Just when I was getting used to launching properly, it was time to go. My best time was 14.54 seconds. My fastest trap speed was 96.49 mph.
If it wasn't a bad launch, it was problems with shifting. I never had a perfect run. On one run, I took off like a bat out of hell only to screw up at the end trying to find fourth (all the way to the finish line). The tree was a Pro tree and not a Sportsman type. Let me tell ya, it took some getting used to. All in all, I guess 14.5 for a newbie is not that bad . I won three races and lost three. It's always good when you win the race even though you had a slower ET and trap speed than the other car due to a faster reaction time............ gotta love it.
My Civic (all motor) vs Civic DX with ZC motor (300 lbs lighter) Civic DX by .506 seconds
My Civic all motor vs Integra GSR Civic by .248 seconds
My Civic with nitrous from second gear on up vs 300ZX Twin Turbo 300ZX by 2.532 seconds
My Civic with nitrous from second gear on up vs Mazda Miata Civic by 2.507 seconds
My Civic with nitrous from first gear 5000 rpm on up vs Audi S4 Audi S4 by .734 seconds
My Civic with nitrous from first gear 4000 rpm on up vs MR2 Turbo Civic by .048 seconds
On every run, I screwed up somewhere. Right now the weak link is my driving. Maybe I should use the 65 horsepower nitrous jets to make up for this old fart not being able to cut it ;-)
Update! December 21, 2000
Sheesh, I haven't updated for quite some time. I've been quite busy. Anyway, about a month and a half ago my car failed Air Care (British Columbia's mandatory emissions testing). I was dumb enough to go through Air Care without putting everything back to stock. My readings were three times over what is permissible by law for my car's model and year. I ended up spending a weekend putting things back to stock. I changed the oil, put in stock spark plugs, adjusted the fuel pressure back to stock psi, cleaned the K&N filter, replaced the PCV valve, adjusted the timing, and performed a valve adjustment. I then took the car through a second time. I failed again, but this time with a worse reading. My insurance was up, so I had to go with the "get the friggin' thing fixed within three months" insurance. A week later, I had a mechanic check the catalytic converter. The cat was doing absolutely nothing. At first I thought it was the catalytic converter not getting hot enough, but I remembered passing Air Care the previous year with the same exhaust system. How could this be? I bought the free-flow cat just one and a half years ago. I was told by a couple of people that running the engine rich kills the catalytic converter. To make a long story short, I purchased a stock replacement cat and an intermediate pipe since the universal free-flow cat had to be welded on. I did all the work myself (it wasn't that hard). Everything was back to stock (including stock header and down pipe). I went through Air Care for a third time and passed with flying colours. Now that the cat is just bolted on, when racing season starts up again, I'm going to take the cat off and run at the track with a test pipe. For those of you who are wondering if going back to stock has changed anything, it really didn't. The power curve is definitely different, but the car doesn't go that much faster at the end of the quarter mile. There's a definite flat spot in the mid-range and one helluva surge in the high rpm range. I have to put the headers back on as the engine bay looks so lame now without the stainless steel pipes, and I don't have that aggressive exhaust growl anymore.
No more street racing (boo hoo). It was fun, though. I had a great summer and fall of street racing. Met lots of great people. Next year, the police and ICBC (Insurance Corporation of BC) are planning on opening Mission Raceway Park to street racers during evenings. If that ever happens, I will definitely sign up for the program. I'm sick and tired of having to worry about the police - even though we are organized and only race in industrial parks and isolated roads.
Update! January 7, 2001
The Bosch Pilots (fog lamps) died last week, so I checked into replacing them. Everything is so expensive now because of the exchange rate. Anyway instead of buying another Bosch lamp (I've had nothing but bad luck with Bosch products), I decided to get a pair of PIAA 1400 fog lamps. They're darn expensive, but the weather can get pretty nasty where I live. Anyway, the PIAA fog lamps are worth the money. The wiring harness, design, even the packaging......... and the lights are incredible compared to the Bosch. It really lights up the road. I guess you really get what you pay for. When you look at the lights they are white in colour, but the light itself casts a yellow hue on any object it hits. I got the Ion Crystal type instead of the clear type. I was told that the yellow would be better in fog or snow because yellow on white is better than white on white. I don't know if that's true, but the Ion Crystal type only cost me 5 bucks more. Of course it's a PIAA, so the cool factor is there. I could've spent the money on a pair of cams, but what the hell.
Update! March 22/01
Street races have been on since early February. Can you believe it? In the Vancouver area, nights hover below the freezing level in February. Even now the temperature is around the freezing mark. For the last five or so weeks there have been a lot of cars out at the street races. Everyone's getting ready for the race season. Mission Raceway's Friday Night Street Legals will start on April 6th. Last month I purchased a pair of used Nitto 555Rs (205/45 15) for $150 and put them on Isuzu mags, which I bought for 50 dollars each. I'm hoping to get my car into the 13's this season. If all goes well, the Civic will be sporting a ported and polished head with a pair of cams and adjustable cam gears. If that doesn't get me into the 13's I guess it'll never happen. I think I've maxed out on my spending. I am also hoping to get into the high 14's naturally aspirated. Right now as it stands, my car is running mid 15's NA and 14.4 with nitrous. With the heads, cams, and drag radials, I should squeak into the high 13's. That's if I don't break anything.......... knock on wood!
Update! April 3/01
It looks like bad luck knocks on the door again. My engine is not healthy. My plans on getting the head and cam swap are on hold. I am losing about a litre of oil through the valve cover breather hose going to and from work (70 km). There's so much oil spewing out that I have had to install a catch can to the breather hose, otherwise the oil would go back into the engine via the breather hose and intake pipe. I had a compression and leak down test done. Number 2 trough 4 cylinders had 185 psi compression, while number 1 had a compression reading of 125 psi. A leak down test revealed leakage in the heads (valves seals?) and possibly the head gasket. Every evening for the last week I've been draining the catch can. If it's the piston rings, I'm definitely screwed. If it's the heads, I'm still in the running as I was going to get the heads swapped anyway. The problem is, I can't afford to go the head swap route only to find out the rings are worn as well. I would eventually need to rebuild the engine or put in another engine. The shop that was to do the head swap (Red Shift Racing) is being a real pain in the neck. I was scheduled to have the head swap done on Monday March 26th! They don't return my calls and they keep postponing the appointments. I'm basically stuck. I can't afford to get the work done at Honda. I have an Si motor that I can put into the car, but that's gonna cost money to have done. It's either spend the money on replacing the heads with a chance that the rings being shot or go with an Si engine swap. I think someone up there is trying to send me a message. Don't race the car!
Update! April 8/01
The Si motor is in the car and it runs really well, so far - knock on wood. The engine has only 6000 km on it since being rebuilt by Honda. I was a little worried about the motor's condition since it had been sitting in storage for about two years. Get this, without plugs, plug wires, or injectors. Thank goodness it was in a place where nobody goes (so I'm told). The motor didn't come with a few parts, but at 250 bucks Canadian (that's about 50 dollars US) it was a damn good deal. The fellow who sold the engine to me went with a ZC turbo in his CRX, so his Si motor sat around gathering dust in case the ZC went bye-bye. Oh, I forgot to mention, this Si motor comes with a performance cam! The fellow who sold me the motor is a good Honda guy. He knew how desperate I was. You see? Us Honda guys stick together..........
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